I made a stirred curd Cheddar Saturday.  When it came out of the press Sunday afternoon it looked and felt great.  However, after air drying for almost 4 days now I am concerned.  Instead of the usual dry feel, it feels sticky.  It is not so sticky on the top and bottom as on the side, but it is very tacky - the stickiness comes off on my hands when I handle it to turn it.  I can only think of one thing that happened differently with this cheese.  When I was placing the cloth in the mold for the initial press, I noticed that I had a small cut on my finger and that a drop or two of blood was on the cloth.  So while I was taking care of the cut, and resanitizing the cloth, the curd sat and waited for me.  It was in a pot, in warm water, so temp should not have been an issue.  But I cannot think of anything else that was out of the ordinary.  I plan on rubbing it well with salt, and then wiping with a brined cloth before waxing.  But does anyone have any ideas on what may have gone wrong?  Should I continue to wait for a good dry surface, or go with it the way it is? I’m concerned that this cheese may not turn out well.

Green Cheese Maker - 11 June 2009 08:01 AM

I made a stirred curd Cheddar Saturday.  When it came out of the press Sunday afternoon it looked and felt great.  However, after air drying for almost 4 days now I am concerned.  Instead of the usual dry feel, it feels sticky.  It is not so sticky on the top and bottom as on the side, but it is very tacky - the stickiness comes off on my hands when I handle it to turn it.  I can only think of one thing that happened differently with this cheese.  When I was placing the cloth in the mold for the initial press, I noticed that I had a small cut on my finger and that a drop or two of blood was on the cloth.  So while I was taking care of the cut, and resanitizing the cloth, the curd sat and waited for me.  It was in a pot, in warm water, so temp should not have been an issue.  But I cannot think of anything else that was out of the ordinary.  I plan on rubbing it well with salt, and then wiping with a brined cloth before waxing.  But does anyone have any ideas on what may have gone wrong?  Should I continue to wait for a good dry surface, or go with it the way it is? I’m concerned that this cheese may not turn out well.

still not dry enough, rub the sides by dry salt many times over more two days, and wait until the stickiness dry off and perform rind.

I guess it is kind of mold + too much humidity + moisture and it will be solved

I added a bit of ventilation to the room, as its been rather sultry lately.  That seems to have done the trick.  When I came home from work last night it was nicely dried with no stickiness to it.  So it is now waxed and in the cave.  Thanks for the encouragement, Nabil.

happy